Disclaimer: Naruto characters aren't mine.
Chapter 5 – Height
The forest pulsated with deceptive normalcy—lush leaves, dry earth, the whisper of an afternoon breeze. But Hinata's heart pounded a panicked rhythm against the silence. Across the clearing, Banshi's black eyes locked with her own. Hinata, heir to the revered and feared Byakugan, knew this was no ordinary encounter.
Not confrontation, never that. That wasn't her way. Yet the mark of the heir burned heavy on her brow, a weight of legacy and fear. Eyes like Banshi's sought to claim that legacy, turning it into a weapon.
The whispers were true. She lacked her clan's inborn prowess. No prodigy, just an ordinary girl expected to be extraordinary. Years of training, sweat and silent tears... her only hope to protect the very thing that made her a target.
Eyes they wanted, her eyes. The purest form of the Byakugan. She tightened her stance, masking the tremor in her legs. Banshi pulsed with chakra, far more than Hinata possessed.
Certain death. Her breaths came ragged now. Fear was a luxury she couldn't afford. No one was coming for her.
'I must be calm,' she willed herself. 'A burden dead is better than a burden alive.'
"The name is Banshi," the woman's voice cut through the quiet, "and I'm here for your eyes."
Banshi removed a seal, a flash of metal, and SMASHED it against the ground. The earth cracked with a sickening boom, splintering toward Hinata. She leapt, flipped—another flip—the ground surging in pursuit. Twenty meters from her enemy, the explosion sputtered out.
"Hmph." Banshi's smirk held no warmth. "Those eyes saved you, little heiress."
Hinata's hands trembled, but her mind raced. Taijutsu was out—get too close, and that chakra rod would turn her into a smear. Banshi had seven more attacks like that...
'Twenty meters, barely enough chakra...' Desperation fueled her focus.
Banshi's hand seals blurred. "Take this. Doton: Doryūdan!"
The earth roared into motion, a mud dragon hunting her with terrifying speed. Each leap bought Hinata seconds, but it clung to her scent, snaking around trees and under branches. Her breath came in ragged gasps as Banshi stood, a specter of amusement.
Thirty seconds, and the dragon wouldn't yield. One more flip. A handspring, then... sunlight, blinding through the leaves.
Twelve seconds. No time for plans, only instinct. She sprang up, landing with feet braced. Hair whipped her forehead, but her eyes blazed. Chakra pulsed in her palms, a vibrant, defiant blue.
Seven seconds. A whispered chant, then a whirl of motion. Two chakra lions erupted from her hands, shattering the dragon with a roar that echoed through the trees. They faded, leaving Hinata panting, but unbroken.
She straightened slowly. "Come and get them," Hinata challenged, voice quiet, yet iron-willed.
The forest held its breath. A lone bird cried out against the sudden silence. Leaves drifted down, a slow, silent rain. The wind brushed against them—and for the first time, Banshi's smirk was gone. Realization dawned in her eyes.
Tenten knelt beside the corpse, her double buns bobbing as she tilted her head in curiosity. "This isn't like your usual work, Neji. Tell me – how?"
Neji leaned against a nearby rock, sipping from his canteen. He met her gaze, seeing the same keen intelligence that sparked when she analyzed a new weapon scroll. "Observation is key, Tenten. What do you see?"
She pointed a finger at the darkened mark on the man's neck. "This... bruise? It looks nasty."
"That's where it ends." Neji watched the clouds drift overhead. "Our Taijutsu...it's different."
"Targeting those chakra points, right?" Tenten leaned forward. "I've seen you do it. But this…"
Neji closed his water container with a soft click. "Imagine a strike like a needle, not a fist. Focused chakra, aimed with precision. The right target can disrupt a person's entire system, from the inside out."
Tenten whistled. "So, like internal damage instead of broken bones?"
"Precisely. Some points cause pain, others…" He looked down at the corpse. "Others are more final."
"The death point," she said, her voice lowered. "Blood to the brain…"
Neji nodded. It wasn't a boast, just fact. "Just one Jyuuken strike is needed..."
Tenten's eyes went wide. "But...how do you know all this? Isn't it, well, Hyuuga secret stuff?" A grin tugged at her lips. "Or are you worried I'll spill the beans?"
Neji considered her for a long moment. Then, surprisingly, a faint wryness touched his mouth. "I trust you, Tenten."
Her grin widened into something genuine. "Hey, thanks. But seriously, branch family boy… what's the deal? "
He crouched beside her, his voice barely a whisper. "I train Hinata-sama. In return, she helps me understand the scrolls, the theory... the things they never intended for me."
A flicker of surprise, then understanding crossed Tenten's face. "So it's a trade. She has the knowledge, you have the skill…"
"And even with the knowledge," Neji added, his voice barely above a murmur, "it's not so simple. Even Hinata-sama needs to strike all the tenketsu points at once to ensure instant death. In a real fight, with a moving opponent? Nearly impossible."
Tenten's eyes widened further. This secret Hyuuga technique was deadlier than she imagined, but with a heavy limitation.
"BOOM! Youthful energy triumphs over death!" Lee's voice shattered the quiet intensity. He came barreling over the hill, Gai close behind.
Tenten sighed, a mix of exasperation and fondness in her tone. "And here comes the cavalry."
Neji stood, his expression already back to its usual cool mask. "Our mission isn't done yet. But this conversation..." He met Tenten's gaze with a hint of hidden intensity, "... it continues later."
The forest air crackled as Banshi swung her metal rod. "Hyuuga Taijutsu, huh? Shouldn't be a problem if I stay out of reach."
Banshi lunged, rod whistling, but Hinata ducked, twisting into a low sweep kick. Banshi leapt, rod swinging for Hinata's head. The Hyuuga girl used a chakra-infused palm thrust to deflect the blow, her body spiraling into a flying kick that Banshi barely evaded.
Hinata landed, instantly resuming her Jyuuken stance.
Banshi circled, rod flashing, seeking an opening. Frustration gnawed at her – time to force the issue. She lunged, a head-strike met by Hinata's parry. The Hyuuga girl's hips jerked, evading a low sweep. Then, a fluid backflip and a lightning-fast kick sent Banshi stumbling.
"Not bad," Banshi smirked, dusting herself off. "But can you keep up?"
Another charge, rod whistling – Hinata ducked, kicked the rod high, and followed with a twisting strike. Banshi dodged, but Hinata spun again, a vicious kick slamming into the woman's gut. Banshi flew backward, grudgingly impressed.
Time for a change of tactics. Back at her post, Banshi wove hand signs and slammed her rod to the ground. The earth cracked, but she was already a blur, outpacing the fissure. Suddenly, she was there, seven meters ahead of Hinata. "Suton: Suryūdan No Jutsu!"
A water dragon erupted from the earth, Hinata gasping. This woman conjured water like Kakashi-sensei! She backflipped away from the pursuing crack, buying a precious fifteen meters. With no time to spare, she spun into the Heavenly Shield just as the dragon crashed against it, shattering into a burst of spray.
"Timing is everything," Banshi's voice drifted across the field. She arched back, rod held high, and slammed it down. The earth splintered towards Hinata. Banshi's chakra exploded from below just as the Heavenly Spin ended, the force staggering the Hyuuga girl.
A scream tore from Hinata's throat. The world turned into a blinding flash of white, then a sickening lurch. Her body, flung like a broken puppet, slammed against the rough bark of a tree. Each breath ripped through her, a jagged shard of agony. For a suspended moment, all was silent but the frantic thudding of her heart. Blood pulsed from her mouth.
Banshi smirked, brushing back a strand of sweat-dampened hair. "Just as expected…" A trace of calculation flickered across her face.
Hinata blinked, trying to force the world back into focus. Her trembling hand twitched—still there, still her own. A flicker of defiance ignited deep within her. Though her body was a battlefield, her spirit refused to yield. Banshi was powerful, yes, but Hinata was a Hyuuga, and Hyuugas did not surrender.
"Kakashi-Sensei…"
The wound on Kakashi's left upper arm was about to vanish when Shino addressed him. So preoccupied was Kakashi with the healing of his arm that he was a little surprised as he heard the boy call his name.
"Hm?"
"Hinata…" Shino rasped as he saw the boy listen to a bug he carried on his index finger while the warm mist of the spring was still lingering on them.
"What about her?"
"I had some of my bugs stay with her and look after her. They just told me you went to the female bathhouse and asked Hinata to go to the forest."
"I have been nowhere but here all the time," Kakashi was a bit apprehensive.
"I know. She's in danger."
"What?" Kiba, too was surprised, and anxiety formed on his face.
"Let's get to her," Kakashi instructed; he felt his heart beat faster as he rose and rushed to step onto the ledge, and then he went to get his clothes from the rack. After wearing his shirt and pants in what seemed like a swoop, he turned to the boys and saw that they wore their attire and were storming out of the door. Kiba hit a man who was just walking to get into the spring. And the guy fell into the spring with a splash for all he cared.
"Tough luck," Kakashi commented before rushing out of the bathhouse himself.
Feeling as though her body had broken apart, Hinata's lips quivered from the indescribable pain as she hyperventilated. Her eyes felt so heavy-like some invisible fingers were pushing them to close. She could taste something salty in her mouth, and her stomach was turning into a state of nausea.
But she would not close her eyes, in fear she would never wake up.
Keeping her sight locked firmly onto the white light up the forest roof, she felt her body numb. Images of distant memory started to race in her mind: like waves hitting the sandy shore.
Kakashi halted his steps in front of the female bathhouse. Akamaru walked out of the entrance to the female bathhouse, nearing both Shino and Kiba before barking once.
"Hinata isn't inside," Kiba informed.
Akamaru then began sniffing on the floor, moving out to the asphalt to track Hinata's scent.
"Faster, Akamaru!" Kiba ordered in desperation. They both followed as Akamaru scuttled with its nose fixed on sniffing the road. Some of the civilians were looking at Kiba's almost-panicking face with interest. This late noon, Taki was not as congested as it was before. After a few minutes, they were nearing a lane, and Akamaru barked again.
"In the forest!" Kiba growled as he began to sprint to the wooded area. Shino and Kakashi used Shunshin to get to the forest entrance but stopped when they heard a girl's loud scream from inside the forest. Shino's head shifted. Kakashi's eyes widened, a knot of dread tightened in his stomach.
"Hinata!" Kiba yelled.
Hinata's body on the ground moved a little when Banshi noticed that the girl had not been knocked out from her chakra explosion Jutsu.
"You know, I've always hated one thing that differs a ninja from the other, that… of what makes one ninja better… as he was birthed," Banshi berated, standing where she had begun the fight, without a single scratch on her despite of their fight.
"What makes you special, and what makes me less? You think you're special just because you were born with a bloodline, huh?" She continued, her eyes narrowing with intense hostility as she crossed her arms and stood.
"Hyuuga Hinata, heir to the fearsome Hyuuga clan, that sounds great, isn't it?" Banshi accused with a nauseated tone. "Tsk. The world should bow down at you, do you think so?"
'It's not wise to judge others by your preconceptions and their appearances.'
I… I was never special. S-Stop the accusation…she murmured, feeling as though her body was raked with a thousand knives. She opened her eyes and looked at the lights that glimmered above her.
I've always been…
'You're a loser!'
Always been a burden.
'Stand up for yourself, Hinata! Stand up and fight him!'
A toothy grin of a boy with yellow hair emerged in her mind: memories of his persistence that had inspired her through the years.
'Hinata, are you okay? I'm sorry. I wouldn't have thrown you so hard if you didn't ask me to. God, you're bleeding. I'm really sorry, Hinata.'
She would miss those red tattoos on his cheeks and that wide grin. Kiba-kun had always been so nice to her, always wanted to protect her: he would not let anything hurt her. But sometimes, it seemed like his protectiveness was hindering her.
'If Kiba-kun believes in me, come at me with no hesitation. Hit me like I'm your worst enemy!'
But he seemed to be one of the people who genuinely cared for her.
'Detach all ties. Defeat or be defeated. You're not serious enough.'
That toneless voice, the eyes that were always shielded by sunglasses, and the constant soothing words he uttered even though he rarely said anything. Over the years, they had built the kind of bond where they reached out to each other in silence. Shino-kun had trusted her enough to not even question her request to be treated like a real enemy when they sparred.
He was one of the few people who treated her like an equal.
He would throw her like a piece of trash on the ground, and she would stand up with great difficulty. It was the kind of understanding and acknowledgment that kept her going on.
'Always soften your body when you get thrown by your enemy. Don't tense-up, Hinata-sama. If you don't tense your muscles when your body hits the ground, there's less chance for you to be injured. And always roll your body back up when you're down.'
And she stood up every time. She would say thanks to Neji nii-san a million times for sharing his genius with her after the Chuunin exams. She never blamed him or his once deep hatred for her because, in the end, time proved that in the silence of the conflict between the main and branch houses, Neji nii-san and herself: his blood was thicker than her tears.
'I want to be by your side at a time like this, the way I always do.'
That bushy black hair and those lovely, lovely red eyes of a woman who had taken Hinata under her wings and nurtured her. Kurenai-sensei: The one who had always believed in her and was always there for her, defended her and saved her from herself.
The unborn child she was carrying, whom she hadn't seen.
'You shouldn't dash at him like that next time.'
There… there had to be a next time.
'You assumed I have patience. You all fail to measure your own capacity and to see the depth of my capacity. As a result, you lie beaten here. You hold onto your organization, your clan, your name… these things limit us and limit our capacities; these things deserve to be shunned.
She looked up at the forest roof; gleams of sunlight were blinding her, crystal drops welling in the pool of her vision. She smiled with great difficulty.
White.
Her vision crystallized and magnified, the trees of the forest were jumbling, but stubbornly she did not look away until her eyes were heated enough, until she closed them and felt hot fluid roll out to wet her face.
"I….want to see them again…." The words came out of her mouth as barely a whisper.
Home.
Konoha wasn't her home. Hyuuga mansion was not her home. Home was them: her sensei, her teammates….her friends, she acknowledged with a heartbreaking conviction.
Banshi was nearing her, walking closer and closer to her like the approaching gray clouds before the storm. Hinata concentrated on her chakra flow, listened to Banshi's footing, and began to guide her own chakra to her eyes.
"Are you down for the count already? Oh… you shouldn't have fought, you see. It was never my intention for you to end up like this," Banshi taunted as she lifted and set down each foot on the ground toward Hinata, her feet stepping into a few puddles of water.
"I want to see them again," she muttered hoarsely as she gruelingly sat up. Her body shook, and with great effort, she knelt on the ground, shuddering. The cut on the side of her lip spilled a tiny sliver of blood, which almost dripped from under her chin.
"What? You're rapidly losing your energy. The boss didn't want you dead, I guess half-alive or barely alive ….. is still alive," she goaded, halting as she stood two feet from Hinata. "Now, to take you where you should be…."
Banshi did not finish her sentence because, in quick dabs, almost a hundred infinitesimal water senbon shot themselves all around her body, stabbing and paralyzing her.
What was written on Banshi's face that second was the kind of look that was apparent in Shino-kun's when Hinata's water Senbon shot at the teammate the last time they sparred: wordless surprise.
Banshi gasped. Her eyes wandered wildly around her own body as her face began to twist. Finding herself petrified, she realized she could not even tremble.
"You… shouldn't have used water element Jutsu against me…." Hinata retorted weakly, but her tone was filled with superiority, a bitter taste filled her mouth, "because all I needed…was water source….to stab you around your Tenketsu…and have you paralyzed…."
Banshi's eyes widened as she stood taut and then tried, in vain, to move her hands together.
A hand seal. Just a hand seal would be enough to free her from this paralysis and trigger a Jutsu to kill this child, Banshi thought—distressfully dignified. If she could shout the foulest expletive at her, she would.
What is this ability to create Senbons from water?
Like a prisoner within her own skin, Banshi watched, eyes wide with dread. The Hyuuga closed her eyes, fingers ghosting to her lips. A single breath. Knee bent, body poised. Hinata was a statue, then a storm. Banshi watched, her own body a stone tomb.
'Imagine the person you're fighting is a foot away from his real body in a real fight.'
The Yin and Yang symbol flared, a burst of light in the fading day. Hinata's voice echoed, each word a sharpened blade. Her face a mask of cold resolve.
'In order… to reach the height of my capacity..."
"Jyuukenhou, Hakke Kyusho Jitsu.".
Hands raised. A scream ripped from Hinata's throat. Fingers blurred—a whirlwind of strikes against Banshi's body. Neck, chest, collarbone—targets in a relentless dance. Banshi faltered, eyes unable to track the onslaught. The water senbon held her fast. No escape.
Each thrust echoed through Hinata, a raw surge of power. The scent of rain-soaked earth mingled with blood. Her ragged breaths sliced the air, the only sound in a world suddenly suspended. Then... silence.
Hinata only heard her own breaths now, laced with shaky gasps. The water senbon dissolved and wetted Banshi's skin and clothes.
Banshi's jaw worked, eyes narrowed in a mix of pain and defiance. Her gaze sought Hinata, the girl now kneeling before her, face shadowed. A flicker of something – understanding? regret?—crossed Banshi's face. Then it was gone.
The blood streaking Hinata's cheek was an echo of her own, a stark contrast to the tears tracing their own path. A silent battle echoed in that single, tear-stained line. Two lives, two paths—forever entwined.
'I... lit a fire, didn't I?'
The words were choked, a gurgle of blood and defiance. The world tilted, colors swirling into a muddy darkness.
Her time was up. So much left unsaid, so many games left unplayed. It was almost... thrilling, this fall from grace. Had she pushed the girl too far? Unleashed something in those wide, tear-filled eyes?
"I... consider that... my success..." A twisted smile touched Banshi's lips. Playful to the end, a tease even in death. Her knees buckled, the ground rushing up to meet her.
Hinata was still kneeling with Banshi's body coiled lifelessly next to her when Kakashi, Shino, and Kiba arrived after Akamaru. The large white dog barked once before sitting on the ground not far from Hinata.
Kakashi and even her teammates noted the heavy air of murder surrounding her. Her face was covered in blood, her hair was damp and unruly, and her clothes were caked with dirt and mud. If anything, she looked nothing like herself. She seemed to realize they were there but did not greet them. Through his experienced eye, something in her manner hinted to Kakashi that she was questioning and doubting things.
Kakashi took the time to inspect the body, realizing it belonged to the woman selling cotton candy to them just before lunch.
He exhaled deeply.
"Shino, Kiba. Try to get that body away from her, and do it carefully," Kakashi instructed softly, trying to think of the next action, of the right word to say to her.
The boys moved, not saying anything, and took the body: Shino taking the shoulder and Kiba taking the feet. They lifted the body and warily brought it away to a hidden spot where the trees were thicker.
Kakashi walked to her slowly, noticing she reeked of blood, and knelt beside her. Lifting up his forehead protector, he closed his right eye and looked through the color of Hinata's chakra flow. He then raised his hand and put his palm against the bruise on her lower lip.
She gasped when the healing green light slowly erased the cut, "this is gonna hurt a bit," he informed as he saw her flinch a little, and then his palm moved to her back, and Hinata's eyes narrowed when the bruise began to mend.
For all his ability to reason, think, understand, and judge rationally, Kakashi decided that maybe—it was better not to say anything at all. Deciding that the healing was sufficient, Kakashi rose to stand, "it's getting dark. Let's go… Hinata."
She turned to look at him, but for a second, she looked at Kakashi like he was a stranger— blankness remarkably evident on her face. Kakashi knew it because he had seen and felt it so many times.
"Get yourself together, and let's leave," Kakashi emphasized again and extended his hand to her. She tilted her head up and saw his hand. Reluctantly, she took it, and Kakashi pulled her up.
But still, she was not saying anything.
"We're gonna have to stay in one of Taki's inns tonight, and we're gonna have to move early and speed up tomorrow morning if we want to arrive in Iwa on time. Hinata has to clean up and rest. Any complaints that will come from the Earth Country or Konoha after this, I will take full responsibility," Kakashi decided as he began his steps to egress, followed by the trio.
Seeing her state, Kiba removed his jacket to leave himself in his inner shirt and covered Hinata's head with it. "Nobody should see your face covered in blood like that, Hinata. So make sure you don't take my jacket off your head, and I'll guide you to the inn," he calmly uttered, unlike the frantic boy he was fifteen minutes ago.
"I was going to suggest that anyway," Shino added and watched as Kiba held Hinata's shoulders, leading her to the forest outlet.
Something about Hinata had changed, the fanged boy thought as he held her shoulder. 'But you're still Hinata, no matter what.'
Shino watched them walk to the exit and stood, still not moving, feeling that somebody was watching them somewhere hidden. He inclined his body and cocked his head to look through the trees behind him as he pushed his goggles up and pulled them down a little.
The forest looked bleak, and Shino decided that his curiosity had just been a trick of the mind before following his counterparts to return to the center of Taki. None of them noticed the cloaked figure in the shadows, who was looking at them from the beginning with his weary eyes.
The sun was setting in the background of the blood orange sky when Daisuke arrived at the dark spot thick with tall trees in the forest. Seeing his comrade lie coiled on the ground lifelessly, he sighed, somewhat disappointed. At first, he was curious, as he was waiting for Banshi at their temporary base in Taki and realized the woman was taking too long to return with her prey.
Deciding to be rid the curiosity, he opened the contract scroll and discovered that Banshi's name had also vanished from the parchment.
Bad déjà-vu.
Now, he was standing before her corpse, figuring that he had to do the cleanup.
"What did I tell you, Banshi? You underestimate your enemy too much," he muttered, kneeling to inspect Banshi's corpse. Dried blood was flowing from her nostrils, mouth, and ears. Precise, dark purple marks were visible in some spots on her neck, throat, and chest. Daisuke could not help but feel amused; because Shigai-sama's keen interest in the white eye doujutsu was now within his comprehension.
He then stood and made a few hand seals in the dark before patting his palm on the ground, "Doton: Reikyū."
The land beneath Banshi's corpse pulverized, and slowly, her motionless body seeped into a quicksand: a silent burial in the dusk.
"Don't worry, my comrade. Because you… will be avenged," he promised calmly before teleporting himself to another space as the forest gradually blackened.
Kakashi went to the town to buy supplies after they checked into an inn.
When they entered the room, it smelled obscurely of mildew, and dusk light filtrated through one warped curtain. Kiba turned on the lights, and the inn's furnishings were revealed: four single beds, a table, a chair, a kettle, four drinking glasses, and silver wares. A small bathroom was also attached to the room, equipped with lukewarm, running water. Logs lay stacked to one side of a blackened, soot-ridden fireplace. Shino lit up the fire, hoping it would help rid the room of its humidity.
Meanwhile, Kiba saw to it; that Hinata got herself cleaned. Right after, he tucked her into the bed. When they were sure Hinata was asleep, they talked quietly amongst themselves near her bed.
"It is clear now that the woman wanted her eyes. I think… maybe we should not have protected her too much. If she had even a scant idea of what we did in the forest, if she… knew what kind of threat she was going to face… maybe she could have been more cautious."
Shino crossed his arms; he felt that he, too, was responsible for what happened, "I agree. Tomorrow we will tell her what happened in the forest. That way, she can be more careful. And also, we must ensure that we don't leave her by herself whatever happens after this."
Kiba smirked tastelessly, "yeah, some friends we were, huh, keeping her in the dark? But I guess we both have learned our lessons."
Kiba then petted Akamaru's head as he sat on his bed, letting the moments pass by.
"It's a good thing she's still alive. After this, we protect her, but we don't keep her in the dark," Shino decided, taking off his jacket to ready himself to sleep in another empty bed.
"Sounds fine to me," Kiba answered and laid himself to sleep beside his dog.
Hinata tore away from her nightmare, gasping.
She raised her body in the bed and sat to find that both her teammates were sleeping heavily in their single beds, snugly blanketed. Akamaru was also napping, its furry body embraced by Kiba-kun so dearly in his deep sleep like a plush toy. Through the glassed window beside her, she looked up at the full moon and found fleeting peace for a second.
She looked around again to find Kakashi-sensei wasn't in; the white sheet of his bed was kept and untouched. She looked at the door and saw it was unlocked. She recognized from the little aperture that he was sitting on the wooden platform beside the lake.
She watched the Jounin's back emptily and decided to join him to sit beside the lake. Getting off the bed, she stepped carefully on the inn's floor, careful not to wake Shino-kun and Kiba-kun up. A sudden gust of cold wind rushed at her when she stepped out completely of the inn. He was only wearing his black long-sleeved shirt, staring at the lake before him.
"Couldn't sleep?" She heard Kakashi ask as she slowly approached him. The somewhat resilient wooden floor creaked beneath her weight as she sat down; it felt surprisingly warm, given the cold night. She listened to the sound of rippling water and watched splashing air bubbles pop on the lake's surface.
"I… had a nightmare," she whispered, and Kakashi noticed she sounded… calm.
"It was only a nightmare," he responded after lengthy seconds.
"But it seemed so…endless," she replied, her gaze downcast.
It is, Kakashi thought.
"Kakashi-Sensei...I….How…"
"Hm?"
"How… do you keep your sanity?" She questioned meekly, not looking at him. Instead, she was looking at the lake, the nocturnal beauty Taki was offering.
Kakashi thought, and his eye guttered, "I don't keep my sanity."
He knew he was not answering anything, but his answer was as honest as it could get.
"It is a curse, isn't it? This… bloodline," She commented again in a blank tone. "That is …why Itachi-san wiped out his clan. And today, I killed a human with it."
"For trying to harm you," he answered.
"For trying to harm me," Hinata acknowledged reluctantly.
"Sometimes, it is easier to stop worrying about things. So don't think too much of it," Kakashi answered, feeling like he was opening himself up, in his opinion, a little too much.
In normal circumstances, he would not even open himself the way he opened himself up tonight. He had always prided himself as the undisputed master of his emotions: bottling things up was his specialty. He was so trained in it and masked himself from it, keeping his distance from anyone because attachment would one day lead him to misery. Such was the reality in the world he lived in, and he had long accepted it. He would rather die than wallow in the guilt of failing to protect his comrades again.
So he would avoid proximity. He would escape into his books because any diversion from reality was and had always been his safest sanctuary.
But tonight, for an inconceivable reason, to this fifteen-year-old girl who was young enough to be his little sister, he was letting his guard down.
*"It didn't matter. Right and wrong decisions, today, didn't matter as well because every now and then, lines do get blurred," he added, as if unaware.
Hinata did not react. They both were lost in silence until she muttered, "then… sensei… shouldn't you… forgive yourself too?"
And Kakashi felt like he had been pricked with an unseen, minuscule splinter.
Forgive… me?
He was slightly surprised when she pressed her head to his shoulder, but he did not distance himself. For whatever reason he could not, or would not think about—he let her curl to his side; the back of her head rested against what was yesterday a wound that she bandaged on his left upper arm, feeling the strands of soft dark-blue hair brush the cloth that masked his chin when he tilted his head down to his shoulder to look at her.
He felt the coldness of the night ebb away as she snuggled into him and turned his head to look back at the lake's surface. He watched a dried leaf topple onto the moon's reflection on the molasses-like water, and the reflection shattered into glittering pieces. Kakashi closed his eye for a few seconds, then raised his left arm, curled it around her frame, and repeatedly patted her hand lightly, just to remind her that she was not alone.
He looked up; through his solitary eye, the night sky was big, dark, blue, and all of everything.
'Self-forgiveness. I… should be taking my own advice.'
He sighed.
He told himself that it is okay to tread on dangerous water once in a while because…
Because she needs this.
Tomorrow, he would be back to being her teacher, back to whomever he was.
Because right now, I need this, he acknowledged grudgingly, his soul feeling closer to her more than before, now with the incontestable certainty—that they were both murderers.
He had been spending too much time sleeping on tree branches.
The thought crossed Uchiha Itachi's head as he pressed his body against the tree lightly, feeling a little pain in the small of his back, watching the intriguing development between his former ANBU Senpai and the Hyuuga girl from a distance.
Taki still seemed busy even this late at night, and from his vantage point of view, he saw the village's core was very much alive. Colorful lanterns were glowing in the streets; haze visibly blended with the air in certain corners of the town as gray clouds glided lazily across the moon. Passers-by were walking on some cement lanes, one or two wobbling with bottles of liquor in their hands, a smattering of hails on some walking paths.
'To overcome your barriers, you and I must continue living together. Even if it means hating each other… that's what being an elder brother means….'
He looked down to inspect the Katana in his hand, the one he used when he spilled the blood of his kinsmen.
'Wouldn't you have done the same, Kakashi-san?' he asked, not requiring an answer: seeing the illusion of viscous, dark red liquid bathing the polished metal, lazily coating it to its tip, dripping into the unfathomable darkness below him.
'You and I: children of war… and we don't have a choice. We're soldiers, and we kill because we have to….and eventually, little by little, our hearts are killed in return. We delude ourselves; it is for the sake of the masses.'
The night deepened to the darkest hue of blue; as silence leisurely blanketed Taki and all its occupants. He breathed in the air and watched the Jounin take the sleeping Hyuuga into his arms to bring her into the inn, into the closed darkness, into the tranquility: of safety within walls, under the roofs.
'We know; it is just a false sense of peace….'
He closed his eyes, waiting for darkness to reclaim him, his lips curving very faintly.
'…at the price of our own.'
Tbc.